ROLLIN' ON, AS THE MOOD TAKES 'EM Brit hit makers at Tropicana

By PATRICIA O'HAIRE

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Mar 02, 2003 | 12:00 AM

'I heard the long-range weather forecast for Atlantic City next weekend well, let's say I just went upstairs and dug out my moth-eaten thermal underwear," says Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge over the phone from his home in Florida. Getting ready for colder climes in the resort town, Edge and bandmates Justin Hayward (vocals/guitar), John Lodge (bass) and Ray Thomas (vocals/flute/harmonica) will be performing Friday and Saturday night at the Tropicana Ballroom. The Moody Blues, one of rock's most respected groups, have been making music and albums together for almost four decades. Their first album, "Days of Future Passed," was released in 1967 and stayed on the charts for nearly two years. Their label had asked them to make a rock version of Dvorak's 9th Symphony. They did but on their own terms, fusing classical music and rock. Following their initial success, the Moodies toured internationally, selling out such venues as Madison Square Garden. After recording several other albums, the band took a hiatus, with individual members doing solo projects. They regrouped in 1977, and by 1980 they returned to the top of the album charts with "Long Distance Voyager.

" These days, the foursome (each is in his 50s) is content to play smaller venues. The Tropicana is "quite a large room," Edge jokes, "there's at least 2,000 seats.

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" Smaller stages, though, haven't affected the fullness of their sound. "With all the improvements in technology," says Edge, "you can do just about anything now. We use 'in-ear' hearing aids, meaning you don't need big playback speakers onstage. For a performer, that means it doesn't matter if you're working in an auditorium or in your own bathroom.

" The technology impresses him. "In 1971, we bought a studio in London for a disgraceful amount of money. Now, I have a little instrument sitting on my table that can do anything for music that the studio could. "Then, with the Internet, it doesn't matter whether you're half a block or half a world apart. We talk to each other in real time and if I have an idea for a song or a melody, I send it digitally to the others.

" MYSTICAL LYRICS The Moodies are working on a new album, says Edge. "I think we have 10 tracks already. It's due in September.

" The band's music was always characterized by catchy melodies with mystical lyrics. It brought them many loyal fans. "Indeed it does," Edge notes. "They follow us. A group from Chicago call themselves the 'Moody Maniacs,' another from Florida are called 'Higher and Higher.

' They make it to every show; I don't know how they do it. We travel in private jets, but they get there somehow. You have to love them.

" The Moody Blues will be at the Tropicana Ballroom Friday night at 8 and Saturday at 9 p.